Kristin S, I agree, the Ankarsrum (aka DLX/Electrolux) isn't something one buys on a whim! It will last, and most cooks pass theirs down to daughters and sons... I've a friend who dearly loves her KA and wouldn't trade it for anything... Re: the issues you mentioned with your KA, here's a photo I found after my first unboxing of the Ankarsrum... kinda shows you the inside and the most commonly used attachments (2) I use for mixing breads, brownies, and cookie dough's. This shows the 'roller' and 'scraper' attachment: You can move the roller away from the bowl side and fix it to any distance from the bowl side and tighten that setting easily, but the roller will still move outward into the bowl's middle freely on it's own helping to mix/incorporate. Sometimes, if there's a little something (and it's always precious little) in the middle that's not mixing, I just manually move the roller (holding the chrome arm on top) over to the middle, then let it go, so it moves back. It's a bit odd initially, using something called a 'roller' to mix ingredients... but it does an amazing job incorporating unbeaten eggs, sugar, flour, extracts, raisins and choc chips (without crushing - no more hand mixing chips and raisin!), anything, really. The bowl rotates constantly at the speed setting of your choice, it never stops unless you turn it off. I add ingredients as it's moving, and flours never puff out, or get on anything... easy cleanup, too! You've lots of open room to add ingredients even from large bowls. I always make sure my butter or cream cheese is super soft (for the roller and especially the whisks and cake whisk attachments. There is no lifting of anything... not until your batter/dough is mixed. You un-tighten the roller arm, it moves out of the way on it's own, and you lift the bowl out. You can see the scraper is naturally sitting against the side of the bowl. The scraper gets "everything" and I rarely move it unless there's a bit of unmixed floor or ingredient on the scraper, at which point I just move it gently out toward the middle of the bowl, then let it naturally go back to the bowl side. Now, if you need to whip egg whites first, you'd instead use the clear bowl and use the whipping attachment instead. If you are making a thin batch of cookie dough or a cake that's thinner, again, you'd use the clear bowl but with the cake whisks. The clear bowl does not turn on it's own, it stays stationary while the whisks move. Here's a photo of the dials.. One changes speed (variable so any speed, plus the high speed is well, very high! It's not got labels, so you basically just go by how it feels and looks to you. The other turns it on, and if you turn it past the 'on' it acts as a timer as well... you can walk away if you need to and it will shut itself off. Another nice thing is the scraper, a simple plastic spatula that fits into the grooves of the 'roller', making batter scraping so easy! Weight: it's no lightweight at 19 lbs, but I think the KA weighs in at 25-29 lbs. Height: I've got 18" between counter top and cabinets... easy fit. Noise: You can hear it, but it runs on a belt drive... it's much quieter than any mixer I've used. I ordered mine from Pleasant Hill Grain, and after it arrived they sent me an email with a .pdf to print out explaining attachments to use, speed control conversions, etc. So, yes, a learning curve, but it's not a huge learning curve : ) There are a multitude of attachments also, but you turn the Ankarsrum on it's side to use most of them. I think the KA is great for many people, but has drawbacks. The primary drawback of the Ankarsrum is the price, IMO.

Various thoughts: I'm just too practical ever to sell a perfectly good Kitchen Aid mixer just because I'm using new colors. Don't choose based upon glass bowl vs. metal bowl. You can buy additional bowls -- they're not cheap, but they're also not terribly expensive. You'll probably want to add accessories to your Kitchen Aid as time passes anyway. If you go with a white kitchen, I think either one will look great. ALL kitchens look better in gussied-up magazine pictures. They take the picture when the kitchen is perfectly clean, in the best possible light, showing an unlikely amount of empty counterspace, and lovely-but-impractical things out as accessories (really, when did a lovely glass dish of lemons -- and nothing else -- ever grace your kitchen counters?). When you remodel, are you sure you'll want to leave the Kitchen Aid out on the counter, or will you choose to place it on a pop-up and keep it tucked away in the cabinets?

I have had the RF28HMED (very similar to the model you're looking at) for a month and love it but also hate a couple of things about it. I'm still getting used to where to put things to maximize space but it's getting better every day. One great thing is that nothing gets lost in the fridge even though it's not counter depth. Cons: Door storage on left side is hardly functional because of the ice maker shoot in the door. I hardly have any condiments that will fit on that side. The right door is very functional but less organized because the bins are so deep so everything is kind of just jumbled together. Main fridge portion seems crowded at times if you're not utilizing the flex drawer. It has a lot of shelves which is nice but for some reason I feel like there's still not enough room to put a bunch of leftovers. Pros: The drawers inside the main fridge are huge and glide smoothly. Again, they are huge. Love them! Flex drawer is currently used for cheese, apples and yogurt. I like that I can put anything in it I want. I originally wanted to store leafy greens in it including the huge spinach container from Costco...and it actually fits but the manual says not to store leafy greens in there. I love the slide away half shelf in the fridge as well as the tilt down shelf. The freezer has pretty good organization, no complaints there. The ice maker works pretty well but dispenses ice a little slow maybe. The water comes out very fast but the way the spout/nozzle is pointing pisses me off! It's angled sharply toward the fridge which makes it impossible to fill a tall narrow neck bottle. Wide mouth are fine as are standard glasses. I did get a 5yr warranty on it and I'd be shocked if I don't have to use it. On the other 4 door fridge you're looking at can you fit a pizza box, deli tray, or sheet cake in flat? That would be my biggest concern with those and maybe the answer is yes. I love being able to open both doors to fit something long in. Most of the time I only have to open one side to get what I need.

Yes, use your budget towards beautiful furnishings and art work that are in your style. Work with your "givens" -- the light flooring, the existing kitchen. If you thought you had a budget that allowed for some expensive kitchen changes, use some of that budget to hire a one-time interior decorator or designer to help you choose pieces, window treatment, and other purchases that will work with the lighting, floors, and spaces you have. Avoid doing or choosing things piecemeal--I love that rug!--so that everything harmonizes and gives your home a feeling of flow and style. Good luck!